A new lawsuit accuses billionaire Elon Musk of “a brazen scheme to bribe Wisconsin citizens to vote” in the spring state Supreme Court race.
Filed on behalf of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and two voters, the suit is against Musk and two of his political organizations. It targets incentives offered registered Wisconsin voters to sign a petition opposing activist judges, arguing the ultimate goal was to help conservative Brad Schimel in the race.
He lost to liberal Susan Crawford by 10 points.
>> WisPolitics is now on the State Affairs network. Get custom keyword notifications, bill tracking and all WisPolitics content. Get the app.
>> WisPolitics is now on the State Affairs network. Get custom keyword notifications, bill tracking and all WisPolitics content. Get the app or access via desktop.
“Defendants’ unlawful conduct creates the risk that Wisconsin elections will become an open auction, where votes go to the preferred candidates of the highest bidders and the election outcome is determined by which candidate has a patron willing and able to pay the highest sum to Wisconsin voters,” the lawsuit filed in Dane County argues.
Musk and his groups offered $100 for signing a petition. Signers had to provide their name, email address, cell number and mailing address on the petition —information seen as an effort to identify conservative voters for GOTV efforts. Those who referred another registered voter to sign were also eligible for $100. The group then awarded $1 million to a Green Bay man who was selected to be a spokesperson for the effort.
That was followed by a rally in Green Bay just ahead of the April 1 election. Musk originally posted on X that he would hand out two more $1 million checks at the event as a sign of appreciation for voting early, and entrance was originally limited to those who had voted.
Musk later deleted that post and clarified entrance would be limited to those who had signed the petition and the $1 million checks would be awarded to people selected to be spokespeople for the effort.
According to the lawsuit, those seeking to attend the event had to identify the methodology they planned to use to vote in the Supreme Court race.
The suit argues the actions violated the state’s prohibition on voter bribery and unauthorized lotteries. It also argues the actions amounted to a civil conspiracy and public nuisance.
Musk used a similar tactic to turn out Pennsylvania voters last fall in the presidential race, but a legal challenge to that effort ahead of the election was rejected by courts in the swing state. Dem AG Josh Kaul sought an injunction to bar Musk from handing out the $1 million checks at the Green Bay rally. But the effort also failed with the state Supreme Court rebuffing a request to issue a last-minute injunction.
